ANALYSIS + HIGHLIGHTS: 10-man CanMNT hold off Ecuador for 0-0 draw

The Canadian men's national team recovered from a disastrous start at home on Thursday, holding world no. 23 Ecuador to a 0-0 draw at BMO Field after going down to 10 men just a few minutes into the match.

As has been the case with most recent games under Jesse Marsch, it was a similar starting XI for Canada as they hone in on their World Cup lineup. The only changes from last month's draw with Colombia were at centre-back, and both due to injury: Joel Waterman came in for the absent Luc De Fougerolles, while a late knock meant Derek Cornelius dropped to the bench in favour of Kamal Miller. Meanwhile, Cyle Larin was out of the matchday squad entirely with a hamstring injury, while recent dual-national recruit Alfie Jones was not officially eligible to play, as he was not able to take his Oath of Citizenship in time for kickoff.

Meanwhile, Ecuador fielded a team with several well-known faces in defence, including Chelsea's Moises Caicedo, Arsenal full-back Piero Hincapié, and Paris Saint-Germain defender Willian Pacho.

From minute one, it was clear this would be a strange evening; within seconds of kickoff, Stephen Eustáquio and Caicedo smacked into one another, stopping the game for a minute or two as both received treatment. That kind of contact set a tone for the rest of the game, where physicality would rule.

It took just six minutes for things to take a turn for the worse for Canada. Chasing down a loose ball on the wing, Ali Ahmed leapt into a challenge on Ecuador's Alan Franco, swinging his boot up to try and bring the ball down. Instead of the ball, though, Ahmed caught Franco's wrist, sending the midfielder to the ground. Referee Fernando Hernandez went straight to his pocket and showed Ahmed a red card, and suddenly, Canada were down to 10 men before the game was 10 minutes old.

Marsch did say postmatch that he thought the call was off base — "I do not think it's a red card, especially given all the circumstances," he said. However, he would be pleased with the spirit his side showed after that.

The early blow may have woken Canada up somewhat — it certainly brought the Canadian crowd to life, after the Ecuadorian fans had been the louder at kickoff. Richie Laryea sprang a phenomenal counter-attack, finding Tani Oluwaseyi in the box to set up a clear shot, but keeper Hernán Galíndez made an outstanding save to keep it 0-0.

To Canada's sincere credit, they changed less of their game plan than Ecuador did after the red card. The visitors, known in CONMEBOL for their defensive-minded play, invite teams to play into them. With a numerical advantage, however, they could hardly sit back, but 79 per cent first-half possession may not have been entirely comfortable for them. Canada defended well — Joel Waterman in particular claimed a lot of balls in the air, diverting the threat of crosses and long balls — and they tried to spring transitional moments.

Tani Oluwaseyi took on more of a pressing role in this situation, forcing Ecuador into those longer balls. The visitors were more dangerous when they used the man advantage to their benefit, cutting through Canada with shorter passes to create openings. They looked lethal moving in and out of the half spaces, although Canada collapsed onto their own penalty area to keep the threat to the outside.

The second half wasn't quite the same; although Ecuador still had a lot of the ball, Canada seemed more of a threat. The continued to get the ball deep into the opposing half, usually on the left side of the box, thanks to Richie Laryea's decisive, direct runs. The Canadians were far more aggressive at hunting down loose balls and winning duels to give themselves throw-ins and corners, with set-pieces seeming like the most plausible option for them to score.

Both teams made late subs in an attempt to shift the tide with energy; Canada brought Jonathan Osorio and Nathan Saliba into midfield in search of some new life, with Theo Bair and Junior Hoilett probing up front. In the last few minutes, however, they struggled to get a touch on the ball, needing instead to keep Ecuador away from the box by staying compact and blocking the channels.

In the end, it was a scoreless draw from which neither team learned much. Certainly, surviving a lengthy stretch at 10 men is a positive for Canada, who faced a couple of threats but largely held Ecuador at bay. However, the attack — for what little attacking time Canada had — remained toothless, making it now three consecutive games without a goal for Les Rouges.

Despite the 0-0 result, though, Marsch was actually satisfied with what he saw from his side. He said repeatedly in his postmatch remarks that the draw might've been the most important result he's seen from Canada.

"The intelligence and the maturity and the savviness and the understanding of how to handle a good opponent, how to stay concentrated in the match for 90 minutes of being a man down, the understanding of roles," he said, "when you can, after the fifth minute, just throw the whole match plan out and have to adjust everything. ... I told them that of all the matches that I've been the coach, I said the least from the sideline, because I could see they had it under control."

Marsch's squad must now turn its attention quickly to a contest with Venezuela in Florida next week, where Canada will be favoured and under some pressure to finally break their scoring slump and find the back of the net.

Box Score

Lineups

Canada: St. Clair; Sigur, Waterman, Miller, Laryea; Buchanan (Osorio 79'), Eustáquio (Nelson 85'), Koné (Saliba 79'), Ahmed; J. David (Bair 85'), Oluwaseyi (Hoilett 79')

Ecuador: Galíndez; Franco (Castillo 85'), Ordóñez, Pacho, Hincapié; Yeboah (Páez 77'), Caicedo, Vite (Arévalo 85'), Angulo (Plata 46'); Rodríguez (Mercado 77'), Valencia (Campana 90+1')

Goals

None

Discipline

6' — Red: Ali Ahmed (Canada)
56' — Yellow: Tajon Buchanan (Canada)
90+2' — Yellow: Patrik Mercado (Ecuador)
90+3' — Yellow: Moises Caicedo (Ecuador)

Player of the Match

Richie Laryea, Canada

Laryea was a firecracker in a game that looked briefly like it might spin out of control, but he put his emotion into being Canada's brightest player on either side of the ball. He won nine out of 11 duels and made five tackles, also making two key passes and drawing four fouls.

What’s Next?

Up next for Canada is a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for a friendly with Venezuela to wrap up their 2025 schedule (kickoff at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, on OneSoccer and TSN).